Futurenautics survey provides latest insights into crew connectivity

Futurenautics recently launched the 2018 edition of their Crew Connectivity Survey Report, providing interesting insights into the thoughts and experiences of almost 6000 seafarers relating to connectivity at sea.

As crew welfare rightly continues to be a hot topic, and attracting the best workforce for business is vitally important in today’s fast paced communications led world, the report offered up noteworthy considerations:

75% of crew say internet access influences the ship operator they work for. Of those, 92%, a figure which has jumped up by 14% in just one year, said on-board connectivity has a strong or very strong influence on who they work for.

61% of seafarers reported having access to crew communications ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’ – a welcome increase of 3%. Disappointingly 2% still reported ‘never’ having access.

92% of seafarers believe that there has been an improvement in the provision of crew communications since the introduction of the Maritime Labour Convention.

Internet access is now the most common form of access to communications and there has been both a growth in broadband VSAT and a commitment by operators to crew internet access.

Improvements in BYOD technology also means more than half of crew members are now able to communicate with family and friends from the privacy of their own cabin using a smartphone.

Most crew members – 88% - are technology literate and are influenced by the levels of connectivity offered by prospective employers.

Access to free-in-port Wi-Fi, a global low-cost roaming SIM card and low-cost satellite phone were the items most wanted by crew today.

In addition to the Crew Connectivity Survey, another recent report, the Seafarers Happiness Index, also identified connectivity as having a major impact on recruitment and retention within the maritime industry, having the most impact on younger crew members.

An area which cannot be overlooked, providing access to quality connectivity could clearly help maritime organisations safeguard their businesses by attracting people who will remain committed and engaged.

For those looking to improve vessel connectivity and provide a better on-board experience for crew, more companies are turning to the high bandwidth capabilities of VSAT services, like Satcom Global Aura.

Aura provides flexibility and value in a range of unlimited packages and speeds to suit the budgetary and operational needs of a wide variety of shipping companies, while also keeping crew happy and connected with family and friends.

With one of the best examples of Ku-Band coverage available on the market today, Satcom Global Aura benefits from partnerships with leading satellite networks worldwide to cover the world’s oceans and major shipping lanes. Built to grow, Aura customers will also benefit from further coverage and capacity enhancements as High Throughput Satellites (HTS) come online this year.

Included as part of all Aura packages, is Satcom Global’s proprietary IPSignature 4 smart box, which provides BYOD (bring your own device) access for crew to access internet applications in private, as well as high quality, low cost crew calling. Plus, with Aura, the fair use policy is the most ‘fair’ on the market, with absolutely no restrictions on regular data consumption and applications such as skype or video streaming; providing crew with access to friends and family, and shipping companies with the means to keep crew morale flying high.

You can download a full copy of the Crew Connectivity 2018 Survey Report from Futurenautics here.